Bible Study What Great Courage.

[In-God-I-Hope]

Today I read from Genesis, and chapter 32 spoke to my heart. The story of Jacob preparing to meet Esau, whom he had deceived and fled from. When he heard his brother Esau was coming to meet him with none other than 400 men, Jacob must have been terrified! It says "in great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him..." Instead of buckling under his fear, Jacob took a moment to pray. "...I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant... Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid... But you have said 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted'. " Even in his moment of, what I can only imagine as blind panic; Jacob still remembered and clung to God's promise to Him. He focused on the "kindness and faithfulness" God had shown him thus far, and remained firm in his belief that God would stay by his side and see him through this.

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]It takes such courage to stand strong and trust in God, when something scary or difficult is heading right for you. I hope I can become the kind of person Jacob was when he stood firm and waited for Esau, all the while trusting in the Lord his God, who had been with Him so far and had promised him so much; despite his "great fear and distress". In my times of great fear and distress, I turn to human comforts, instead of taking a moment in the mayhem to pause and speak to God. I have learned a great lesson today from Jacob's simple prayer to God in his time of "great fear and distress", and am moved by this demonstration of utmost trust in God's protection and purpose.